And while Halsey may have kept the specifics of her diagnoses and treatment private, “The End” does provide an intimate look into her struggles.
“Every couple of years now, a doctor says I’m sick,” she sings in the song’s opening line. “And at first, it was my brain, then a skeleton in pain / And I don’t like to complain, but I’m saying sorry.”
Halsey—who confirmed her relationship with Avan Jogia in October—then continues, “When I met you, I thought I was damaged goods / Had a f–ked up childhood / And there’s poison in my brain and in my blood.”
“When I met you, I said I would never die / But the joke was always mine ’cause I’m racing against time,” she sings in the final verse. “And I know it’s not the end of the world, but could you pick me up at 8? / ‘Cause my treatment starts today.”
Halsey’s emotional song and health news come shortly after she fiercely defended Kate Middleton amid the scrutiny on the Princess of Wales’ retreat from the public eye, which she eventually shared in March was due to a cancer diagnosis.
